Michael Keaton - Batman Forever

After starring as The Dark Knight in 1989’s ‘Batman’ and its sequel ‘Batman Returns’, Michael Keaton decided to hand back the keys to the Batmobile once director Tim Burton parted ways with the series.

Once Burton was replaced by Joel Schumacher for 1995’s ‘Batman Forever’, the actor soon found himself at odds with the new filmmaker over his vision for the DC Comics superhero, and so Keaton exited the franchise.

He later said: “I remember one of the things I walked away from thinking, ‘Oh boy, I can’t do this,’ [was] where [Joel] said, ‘I don’t understand why everything has to be so dark and so sad.’ And I went, ‘Wait a minute. Do you know how this guy got to be Batman?’”

With Keaton gone, Val Kilmer was brought on as the new hero, though he too was eventually replaced by George Clooney in 1997’s ‘Batman and Robin’.

While Keaton left Batman behind, the actor later reprised the role in 2023’s ‘The Flash’.